There are a wide variety of zero insertion force electrical connectors particularly adapted for terminating flat cables, such as flexible flat cables, flexible printed circuit boards and the like. These electrical connectors conventionally have a housing mounting a plurality of terminals in a generally parallel array. An actuator, such as a pressure member, is used to press the flexible flat cable, flexible printed circuit board or the like against contact portions of the terminals.
Heretofore, some actuators have been designed to be pushed in and pulled out of the connector housings. Such designs require the application of insertion forces to the flat cables. In addition, such designs have inevitably resulted in an increase in the overall size of the connectors.
Consequently, some zero insertion force electrical connectors for flat cables have been designed with actuators or pressure members which are rotatably or pivotally mounted on the housing for movement between first, open positions allowing free insertion of the cables into the connector housings, and second, closed positions for clamping the flat cables against the contact portions of the terminals.
One of the problems with prior connectors having rotatable actuators or pressure members is the tendency of moving the pressure member back toward its open position when undesired external forces are applied to the flexible flat cable. The flat cable tends to raise and rotate the pressure member, thereby releasing the flat cable from the connector. The present invention is directed to solving this problem and preventing undesired releasing or decoupling of the flat cable from the connector when certain external forces are applied to the cable.